Customer Reviews

Goliath

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Here at last is a film that doesn't show the constant strain of "keeping things moving." Its director and screenwriter (the Zellner Brothers) had the courage to let some scenes play out in real time. So we get a chance to live with the main character, to abide with him.

In one of the most exceptionally courageous scenes of all, we sit with the main character, played by David Zellner, as he and his estranged wife sign their final divorce papers, initialing sheet after sheet of documents. Far from this being boring though, the scene gives viewers a chance to really experience the couple's cold, white canceling of each other.

We get to participate in the little things that make up daily life and that, when highlighted on screen, can be seen as having a sort of comic disproportion all their own. For example, we see Zellner choosing a type font for the posters he's going to hang around the neighborhood, announcing a reward for the return of his lost cat, Goliath.

Oh, what we're all reduced to in the process of solving the many little problems that come our way - the little problems, that because they're ours, loom as big problems. We see Zellner walking down the shoulder of the expressway, operating an electric can opener off a generator he has strapped to his back. Every cat owner will be able to identify with that scene, because we all know that cats immediately learn the sound of whatever apparatus is used to open their cans of food. If a wandering cat is anywhere in the vicinity, it can be relied upon to come running to that sound.

This movie is not all comic chagrin though. It takes a dangerous, harrowing turn. Then we see how frustration can work itself out on a random target. Although even in Zellner's character's extremis of rage, there is a certain black comedy quality to the proceedings.

This movie, like a Monty Python intro, really is "something completely different." It's an independent film that has a genuinely independent spirit. "Goliath" is the cat's meow.

Having followed the Zellner's career of shorts (my favorite was Aftermath on Meadowlark Lane) and even their earlier features (Plastic Utopia), I knew to expect a funny and wry movie, but Goliath exceeded my expectations, really moving me.

You don't have to be a cat lover to love this movie, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt!

And goes nowhere. Wry? Comic? Wow...using Shakespeare, Keaton, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Laugh In, Richard Pryor or Tina Fey as possible guides, I do not see where the comedy comes from. A guy unravels. Painfully. Surrounded by uninteresting and childish people. In slow motion. (Very slow...the 5 minutes watching them sign their decree, in a film of fewer than 80 minutes, was an insult.)

He is a jerk, a cheat, and a coward. He was all those things before he lost his cat. And will remain all those things after this tale concludes. If you enjoy people being made fools of, and others trying to accommodate them in their bizarre worlds, this may be your cup of tea. But it wasn't mine.

If you've found these guys brilliant film-makers in the past and want to see a full length version of their work, well, though full-length is a bit of an exaggeration, go for it. If you're just looking at the cover which shouts COMEDY, be warned. Nothing in this film is comic. We (or at least my wife and I) cannot identify with this poor guy. We can only pity him, and be hopeful that maybe he will pull things together a bit, but I would not want to spend another minute with any one in this film. Ever.